Investigators share new details on Mankato woman’s disappearance

Investigators don’t suspect foul play in the disappearance of a missing Mankato woman.

Nyawuor Chuol, 30, was reported missing April 25.  She was last seen in Mankato by family, but police later learned she had been dropped off at the Eagle Lake Casey’s store at about 8:45 p.m. that same night.  She left the gas station on foot.

Investigators have now released new details about Chuol’s disappearance.  The investigation ramped up as more time passed with no activity on Chuol’s cell phone and financial records.

Commander Chris Baukol said Chuol never entered the Casey’s store after she was dropped off.  After exiting the vehicle, she walked around in the parking lot, then appeared to walk towards Highway 14. Although nighttime conditions make it difficult to determine, Baukol said the timing matches up and investigators believe it was Chuol walking on the Highway 14 area.

Neighboring businesses or cameras from the Minnesota Department of Transportation haven’t offered any additional clues.

Chuol didn’t make any phone calls around the time she went missing, but Baukol says her phone last pinged on a tower near Madison Lake, sometime after she left Casey’s.

Baukol retraced Chuol’s activities the night of her disappearance.  He says she first took a rideshare to Lion’s Lake in Mankato, then traveled to Spring Lake Park.  She was picked up at the Speedway station on Highway 169 in North Mankato, and went to Eagle Lake from there.

Baukol said the driver indicated Chuol was interested in finding the town’s namesake body of water, and not the city itself.  Because the driver was uncertain how to get to the lake’s public access, Chuol asked to be dropped off at the store.

Chuol also made a stop a Rush Liquor that same evening, but Baukol said it’s unclear whether she consumed alcohol, or what mental state she was in the night she disappeared.

Search efforts have not turned up any clothing articles or items belonging to Chuol.

The Mankato Department of Public Safety and the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office will hold a joint press conference next week to update the public.

Chuol was wearing a pink or purple hat, blue jacket, black leggings, and brown boots. She is also carrying an over-the-shoulder bag that appears white or tan. Chuol is a black female, who is 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and weighs about 120 pounds.

Anyone with information about Chuol’s disappearance should call 911.